One more thought, as an experiment you might try removing your DAC from the chain and let the Node do everything to see if you still hear significant differences between songs.
Why Do Some Recordings Sound Great and Others Dead?
I listen to Radio Paradise MQA on my NODE 3, SMSL M400, B and O Beolab 8000’s and Hsu 15in sealed sub. The acoustics in my room are poor. I’ve noticed that some recordings sound very realistic. For instance the vocals on a Stabat Mater dolorosa hymn sounded great. But a Nora Jones recording was terrible. Her voice was lost in back of some murky instruments. I’m familiar with this recording listening to it on my iPod, where her voice shines out and the music is good. I’m wondering why the big differences?